14 dead, more than a dozen wounded in California shooting

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Two gunmen wearing military style tactical gear opened fire Wednesday at a Southern California social services center "as if they were on a mission," killing at least 14 people and wounding 21 others, authorities said.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspects as Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik.

[READ: Who are Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik?]

Hours later, police hunting for the attackers riddled a black Ford Expedition with gunfire several miles away. Farook was killed in the street with an assault rifle in his hands, and  officers found Malik dead inside the SUV.

Police confirmed officers fired 380 rounds at Malik and Farook.

The SUV used by Farook to escape from the scene of the shooting was rented by Farook.

Investigtors found an additional 12 pipe bombs at the home of Farook.

Fast Facts:

• At least 14 people were killed in social services center
  
• 21 more were wounded
• 2 suspects dead: Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik
• Suspects dressed in "assault style" clothing
• Suspects had assault rifles and hand guns
• Police investigating if attack is terror related

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan also said at a news conference Wednesday evening that authorities found what they believe is an explosive device at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.

The explosive device has been described as a remote controlled toy car with three pipe bombs strapped to it.

CNN reports that Farook was radicalized prior to the shooting. In a news conference, Pres. Obama says the massacre may have been terror-related but officials can’t say for sure at this point.

Burguan says the suspects were wearing "assault-style clothing" and were both armed with assault rifles and handguns.

Police say Farook and Malik fired 75 rounds at victims at the Inland Regional Center.

Burguan said, "Some degree of planning went into this."

It was the nation's deadliest mass shooting since the Newton, Connecticut, attack in December 2012 that left 26 children and adults dead.

Police shed no light on a motive for Thursday's massacre, which came just five days after a gunman opened fire at Planned Parenthood in Colorado, killing three.

"They came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission," Burguan said.

[READ: What is Inland Regional Center and what do they do?]

Witnesses said several people locked themselves in their offices, desperately waiting to be rescued by police, after gunfire erupted at the Inland Regional Center, which serves people with developmental disabilities. Some people telephoned their loved ones and whispered to them what was going on.

The attack took place in a conference area where the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health was renting space to hold a banquet, said Marybeth Feild, president and CEO of the center. She said the building houses at least 25 employees as well as a library and conference center.

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FBI agents and other law enforcement authorities converged on the center and searched room to room for the attacker or attackers, but it was feared that they had escaped.

[VIDEO: Tense survivors evacuated after San Bernardino shooting]

Ten of the wounded were hospitalized in critical condition, and three were in serious condition, San Bernardino Fire Chief Tom Hannemann said. Police cautioned that the numbers of dead and wounded were early estimates that could change.

No weapons were recovered at the center, though authorities were investigating unidentified items in the building and brought in bomb squads, Burguan said.

As the manhunt went on, stores, office buildings and at least one school were locked down in the city of 214,000 people about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, and roads were blocked off.

[READ: How to survive a mass shooting]

Triage units were set up outside the center, and people were seen being wheeled away on stretchers. Others walked quickly from a building with their hands up. They were searched by police before being reunited with loved ones.

President Barack Obama was briefed on the attack by his homeland security adviser.

He said it was too early to know the shooters' motives, but urged the country to take steps to reduce the frequency of mass shootings. He told CBS that stricter gun laws, including stronger background checks, would make the country safer.

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"The one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world, and there's some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently," Obama said.

The shooting sounded like "an organized plot," and preliminary information seems to indicate that "this is personal, and there seems to suggest some element of revenge and retaliation," said Erroll G. Southers, director of Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies at the University of Southern California and a former FBI agent.

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"What it says to me, it's someone who's familiar with the facility, it's someone who knew exactly what room they were going to go to, they knew exactly which way they needed to escape," Southers said. "They've done their homework, they know what the response time in this jurisdiction."

Guns purchased legally

Federal authorities say that the two assault rifles and two handguns used in the San Bernardino massacre were all purchased legally in the United States — two of them by someone who's now under investigation.

Meredith Davis of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives says investigators are now working to make a connection to the last legal purchaser.

She says all four guns were bought four years ago but she's not saying whether they were purchased out of state or how and when they got into the hands of the two shooters.

Davis says California requires paperwork when guns change hands privately but many other states don't.

She also says the rifles involved were .223-caliber — powerful enough to pierce the standard protective vest worn by police officers, and some types of ammo can even plow through walls.

Father received texts from daughter inside the building

Terry Petit said his daughter works at the center, where social workers find jobs, housing, transportation and provide programs for people who have disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He got a text from her saying she was hiding in the building after hearing gunshots.

Petit choked back tears as he read the texts for reporters outside the center. He said she wrote: "People shot. In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office."

Sherry Esquerra was searching for her daughter and son-in-law, both of whom work at the center. She said her daughter helps "very disabled" children and "gets all the services she possibly could for these kids."

"I just don't understand why somebody would come in and start shooting," Esquerra said. She last saw her daughter at Thanksgiving and planned to see her Friday. When she calls her phone now, "Nothing. I just get her message. Straight to voicemail."

Marcos Aguilera's wife was in the building when the gunfire erupted. He said a shooter entered the building next to his wife's office and opened fire.

"They locked themselves in her office. They seen bodies on the floor," Aguilera told KABC-TV, adding that his wife was able to get out of the building unharmed.

The social services center has two large buildings that require a badge to get in, said Sheela Stark, an Inland Regional Center board member. However, the conference room where many public events take place — including the banquet on Wednesday — is usually left open when visitors are expected.

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Contributing to this report were Brian Melley, John Antczak, Christopher Weber, John Rogers, Christine Armario, Gillian Flaccus and Sue Manning in Los Angeles; Amy Taxin in San Bernardino; Tami Abdollah in Washington; Alina Hartounian in Phoenix; Michael Sisak in Philadelphia; and Hannah Cushman in Chicago.

WSBTV